Florida's population went up slightly in 2009 after a one-year decline broke a steady string of growth dating to the end of World War II, according to preliminary figures released Thursday.
The University of Florida reported the state added an estimated 21,000 residents last year. That's after losing more than 56,000 in 2008.
Florida's total estimated population now is 18,771,768.
Stan Smith, director of the university's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said the 2009 increase didn't come close to making up for the previous year's decline.
"Even though the state turned it around, it still represents the smallest population increase since the 1940s," Smith said.
He attributed the growth to a slight improvement in Florida's economy although it's still in bad shape, particularly when it comes to creating new jobs.
"There have been some jobs added in the last few months, but unemployment is still very high and job growth is very weak," Smith said.
Florida's July unemployment rate was 11.5 percent with more than a million workers jobless.
The population growth last year was uneven. Slightly more counties lost rather than added residents although the changes, up or down, were generally very small.
The biggest increases were in the largest counties, led by Miami-Dade, which added an estimated 8,253 people. Hillsborough was next with 6,353 and then Broward with 5,834.
The biggest percentage increase was in north Florida's Lafayette County, one of the smallest. It grew by 5.2 percent but that was mostly because of an increase in the number of inmates at state prison, Smith said.
The biggest decline was in Seminole County, which lost 3,659 residents. Pinellas followed with 3,199 and then Volusia with 2,055. The greatest percentage losses were in Glades, Jackson and Holmes counties.
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